You need help, Rust
by Mariqueen m
Summary: Year 2000. In this universe the "I mown my own lawn" scene happened this year. Marty has a third daughter, older, around 19 called Sarah. I own none of the characters of True Detective (such as Marty Hart and Rust Cohle) But I do own the character of Sarah Hart.
1. Chapter 1

There was a door knock. He wasn't expecting anyone… Never. He just recently got home, and didn't even change his clothes. He was still wearing the same swety, grass stained shirt he was when he got home. The one person he thought could be, wouldn't want to see him now.

He walked towards the door, and was surprised by what he hear. The line, was the same as if it really were Marty. But the voice… The voice was was a little hight pitched, not much. But the line, the line was the same:

"Damn Rust! Open the door,I know you're in there!"

He rushed his pace to the door and open it, even though he saw her on the other side, he was having trouble believing she was there. Sarah, Marty's older daughter. She's so different from the other two girls. So much of Marty rubed off on the first kid, apparently the two following ones were going to be all Maggie. That wasn't a bad thing for them. Two stubborn Marty-Hart-like people was enough to have in one house.

"Hey…" She said "Can I..?" And pointed to the inside of the house. Rust just steps aside an she gets in. He feels, somehow, the right thing to do was to have closed the while telling her to leave. But he didn't. Instead, he has a hand in the door knob and eyes on her, while she takes a discrete, and trying very hard not to be judgmenta,l look around his almost empty house.

She glances back at him and at the open door.

"Do you want me to leave?"

People almost never get a second chance of doing the right thing. This was a second chance right there… And he did what every human been does in such circumstances: Screwed it up.

Almost as if his arms weren't been controlled by him, he pushes the door shut. Walks toward her, but not to her. The apartment seems so much emptier with her there. Much because she didn't belong there. She belonged to her living room, helping the baby sisters with home work. Belonged to her kitchen, helping her mother with the countless dinners over the year, while he watched her grow. Belonged to her silver ringed glasses she was wearing when open the door to him earlier this same day. And wore again when brought him lemonade in the back yard.

She was sun flushed and that said something to Rust, he just couldn't figure out what. He passed right by her and went to the kitchen. She followed him and sat in a chair by the kitchen counter.

"I'm here to apologize by the asshole your partner is" She said emphasizing the word asshole

"You shouldn't talk about your father like this…" Rust responded without been startled by that.

"I'm not talking about my father. I'm talking about your partner… They are two different people that sometimes get confused…"

Rust open the refrigerator and grabs as boxed orange juice and puts in front of her with a glass. She looks at it with some amusement mixed with feeling offended.

"Fuck you, Rust!" That was her father, right there! "What do you want, to see my ID?"

He saw her drinking before, just didn't felt right to give her a beer. He puts back the juice box, gets two beers and hands her one.

She uses her shirt to help opening the bottle. He realizes she uses one over sized Pink Floyd white shirt. It has grass stains on it matching his own. He start putting together the picture of what happened after Marty told him to leave. She continues.

"My father loves his family. Too much… And sometimes, the only way he knows how to show this love, it's been the asshole partner I know you have."

"You don't have to apologize for him."

"I'm not." She says drinking straight from the bottle. It's been ages since he saw a woman doing this. "You seem like a guy who needs answers, I'm giving you answers."

"I had those answers."

"I could imagine that too." She took a long sip in the beer.

He had already figured it all out. After he left, Marty started getting rid of the grass. And she went to the back yard to help. And also to say that her father was been an inconsiderate asshole. He yelled at her, she yelled back. And she got angry. Her face was flushed of sun and anger. She got angry every time people don't listen to her. She was thought by her father to make herself be heard. And when this same man could not be reasonable and listen to what she had to say, she got fucking pissed.

He could smell the freshly cutted grass on her. And the beer in her breath when she said:

"You need help…" That was it, he needed help. The truest unfinished sentence she could have said.

"I don't want help." He answered before she could go on

"Did I said you wanted help? I'm saying that you need it! And, my mother was being nice with you. As were all of us… And then Detective Marty Hart makes a scene…" She nods her head.

He looks at her. She has a strong grip on the neck of her beer. Maybe she also needed help. She needed vent with someone who wasn't on her father's side.

"You still need help…" She said smiling and drinking the beer.

"Is that why you're here?" Rust asks trying to figure out what she really was saying.

She laughed.

"Fuck no! You need professional help. I'm not here to fix you…"

"Like a psychiatrist?"

She shrugged "At least until it prescribes you something good…" She was joking, but he could not tell for sure. "Maybe you can just talk to somebody who has high tolerance to your kind of crazy."

"I tried to talk to my partner…" He drank his beer

"Yeah? How was that like?"

"Something tells me you know…"

"A little much too well." Said Sarah

"And what do you do in this case?" Rust was trying to turn the subject to her

"Find someone I can share a beer with…"

"And that's why you are here?"

"Maybe…" She finished her beer and put it over the counter

Rust didn't like been surprised. So he wasn't sure how to react when Sarah was in front of him and he could taste the beer in her lips and tongue. He grabbed her by her by the arms and pushed her apart slowly while lifting from the chair…

"Sal… You should go."

"No I shouldn't… You need this…" She pressed her body against his "We need this."

"Sarah, I end up hurting people who get too close" He said without pushing her this time

"I don't care…"

He pushed her against the fridge. Her skin tasted like sun burnt and the warmth of the day. She had little specks of grass in her belly. He tasted her skin while she grabbed his hair. He could hear her breathing and the house felt warm for the first time.

She was wearing shorts, that soon were on the floor with his shirt. He pressed his body against her back, and her body against the kitchen counter. There was some difference of height that she tried to overcome by standing in the tip of her toes. When he first could feel the inside of her body, he moaned against her shoulder blades, and she suffocates a scream. Her arms are spread to the front and she claws the marble counter. She feels his body around and inside her, and he's intense. One of his hands is tangled in her hair and he pulls towards him. He is quiet, she didn't thought it would be different… But she can't no longer be quiet. She moans and cry out for him "Cohle!". Her body waved under his, and his name out of her lips was all he could take… As he came, he pressed her even harder against him. She breaths deeply and moans one last time. He moves a little back, and gives her room to move. She turns to him. His head hangs low. She reaches for his chin, and makes eye contact. His eyes are filled with worries, but hers are fulfilled and satisfied.

"No regrets…" She says "That was not the point of this"

She pulls his head over her chest. He can feel her heart pound trough. He don't want to let be carried away by this. But he close his eyes and the sound soothes him…


	2. Chapter 2

Sarah sat in her car. She needed to get out of there, quick. This was his house street and she could not stay there for longer.

"Ok Sarah…" She said out loud to herself "Focus on the fucking mechanics of driving".

She turned the key and slowly left her spot. Just as she did this, a man open the door of his house. He was shirtless and had a beer in hand. His second of today. But no matter how much he drank… He wouldn't lose the taste of grass and beer from another person's mouth.

"And now turn slowly to the right"

She parked her car in the garage.

"My father will have problems parking today… Couldn't care less!"

She slammed the door shut and got in the house.

"Mom!" she yelled from the door "Is Marty home?"

When they fought, she called him by the name until she was finally done with being mad at him.

"Your father," Maggie answered "is at the office."

"Good…" Sarah muttered "Thanks!"

She got up to her room taking two steps at a time and closed the door. Three steps in front and she could let herself fall in her bed. Fell face down. And while in that position, realizes that her muscles from her rib cage down are sore.

She turn her face up and look at the ceiling. Deep down she wonder what the hell she just did. And tries to find a way of regret it. She doesn't.

"Sal…" Maggie's at the door "Are you ok?"

"Yes mam… Why?

"You two put up a pretty big fight today…"

"Not the first, not the last…"

Not another word from Maggie. Over the passing years she got really good at ignoring the father and daughter fights they had. They were explosive, but a few hours later, both were in good terms again. Two stubborn people that had to learn to live together… Almost 20 years trying and they haven't quite figured it out how. But thanks to this fights, Sal had a certain that everyone wants to have, but is never satisfied with the answer. At least to what concerned her father, she was the favorite daughter.

But that wasn't up for her to be worried now. She was thinking about Rust's white house. The white walls and white, almost non existing, furniture. She hadn't actually thought the whole situation through. Her plan was, go to his house, apologize for her stupid father, maybe have a beer and have him open up to her, even the littlest bit would do. So it also struck her as a surprise when she saw herself kissing him. Couldn't even blame the alcohol… Just a bottle of beer, is not enough to start assigning blame to it. She had a chance to flee. He pushed her away, she could have gone. Maybe a few awkward dinners would follow, and then nothing else would be said. But no… She was too proud to do it. She started, she provoked him, she would sure as hell finish it.

So now, there she was… thinking, not knowing what to do now. Not knowing if she could do something now. She needed badly a cigarette. "Please let it be at least one…" She said going through her purse to find at least one… "Aha!" She found the carton, with her last cigarette. Should have bought some coming home. But, on the other hand… She could barely remember how she made the way from his house to hers, imagine remember buying cigarettes. She went to the window and was about to take it to her lips, when an image froze her.

There was a car parked down the street. A car it didn't belonged to any of the neighbors. Her father thought her how these kinds of things were important to memorize. That car didn't belong there. But it was a familiar car. A little too familiar. That car used to park at her front door at least twice a month since years ago. Her hand shook so much, she decided to spare herself of the embarrassment of trying countless times to lit the cigarette. She just dropped both on the ground. The car approached and passed right by her house without stopping. She could see Rust in the driver's seat. He didn't turned to look. He was wearing sun glasses. When the car was out of sight, she didn't lean over the window to see it pass, because he could see her trough the review mirror.

If she was confused without knowing what to do next, she was utterly puzzled on how to act now, that he had made this step. "I could use another beer…"

**Two months later**

"That's great Amanda! Really!"

Amanda kept talking, about how she finally went on a date with the guy she was obsessing about over the past weeks. Sal was actually paying attention to what she said… Until she felt her phone vibrate. It was just once and short. That meant a sms. And that almost for sure, meant someone was around. She got the phone from her purse and in the corner of the screen was a little envelope. The number didn't had a name. She chose not to save it in her contacts, but she had it memorized.

The messages from that number were soon erased by her, as well as the few calls. The messages never said much. Once were three dots, other time was a letter and a number… That was a parking space. This time, it had a word – left. She looked left. Across the park, on the other side of the road, there was the car…

"Oh man…" Sarah said "Sorry, but my mom needs help with the girls and dinner."

They said good bye and Sarah walked the opposite side of the car… She walked casually, no rush… Just as she arrived to the other end of the park, the exit was to a less took road. As soon as she crossed the gates of the park to the street, the car parked in front of her, she walked around it and got in the passenger seat.

"Hi" said Sarah

"Hey…" said Rust

And without any other word, they left.

"I wasn't expecting you today"

"We saw each other every day of the past week, why didn't you expect me today?"

"Because I knew you would be working all day long… Because Marty would too" She avoided call him Dad around Rust. There was no need to make things weirder.

"I need to talk to you now."

She made a face mocking pain. "That can't be good"

She learned that he didn't take sudden bursts of almost every emotion well. But if she stopped, took a deep breath and tried to put what she was feeling into calmly said words, he would answer almost as a normal person.

"Nothing to worry" And not another word was said while he was driving.

She also learned to appreciate the moments of silence they had. He was actually comfortable with her in the car. Enough to don't feel obliged to make small talk. She rolled down the window and enjoyed the wind.

Rust made a turn in a road that was almost not there. The car was jumping with holes in the ground. He made like five minutes in this path, until there was no longer something to call a road under the car.

"I was afraid we would have a conversation I would not like… Now I'm afraid I'll not survive" She said this with an undisturbed look in her face that gave Rust a smirk.

"Maggie called me" He stopped the car at what could be called the side of the road.

"What?!" That was for a fact not what she expected.

"She wants me to go to dinner" He seemed burdened by that

"Is that what you wanted to tell me…?" She was tip toeing around it because she knew this was one moment she could have a total honest response with an emotion he could deal with: angry

"Fuck you Rust!" He looked puzzled at her "You brought me to middle of nowhere to tell me you're coming to dinner? I knew you were coming to dinner!"

"Knew?" He looked a bit more confused

"You were always at my house: dinner, watching games with Marty… And now it's been two months since the last time you were there. You better be going to dinner! My mother is already thinking that you two fought beyond repair"

She took a deep breath. She was relieved that was the whole problem…

He smiled… That was an unconventional response of him. She knew she did something right when he smiled. He was defeated, she was right. It was starting to seem he was trying too hard not to be around Marty's family. He had to go.

"I'll go… You can calm down now, ok?" He said showing his palms up like trying stop her from freaking out. Even though he knew she was already fine.

"You brought me here for this… I knew you were coming to dinner. My mother asked me to help."

"Ok.." Rust nodded and lift his hand to the ignition, she placed her hand on his

"Just two questions… How did you knew I was at the park?"

"You know I find people for a living, right?"

"Creepy pervert! You've been stalking me!" She punched him in his arm and smiled.

"You said two questions…"

"Yeah… " Sal run her fingers tracing Rut's hands contour "You have to go back now?"

They locked eyes with each other. Rust pressed the buttons to release hers and his belt. He reached for her opposite arm and pulled her closer. She helped by holding on to the back of his seat, and in no time she was face to face with him, their foreheads touching, looking right inside each other's eyes. She hold his face between her hands.

Rust's hands run up he tights… She's wearing a black dress with pink flowers, underneath it her underwear seems frail. He reached her right hip with his left hand and rip the string by the side and slides the underwear off through her right thigh. She doesn't even flinch. He likes how she doesn't act out. She didn't act surprised when he ripped off her underwear because that was exactly what she expected him to do. And he expected exactly her not to react, just kept looking inside his eyes… Funny how you get to know somebody so well through sex.

She unbuttons his shirt bit "Not too much…" She thinks "He's gonna work with other detective after this… You know how they can get keen on details". He unbuckle his belt and open the front of her dress just enough so he can see her black lace bra under it. She come closer to him. And as he slides inside of her, she slides her tongue between his lips. He can taste the cigarette on her lips this time. Heaps more satisfying than an actual cigarette. He imagine he could easily get addicted to suck the smoke straight out of her lungs if she was ok with it… She would be ok… She pressed her breasts against him and moved the hips up and down. She had one hand is his throat and the other clinging to the arm that was in her hip. She did not know, how this hand on his throat thing started, but he seemed to enjoy and she wasn't going to stop. She pressed harder and harder till their climax. She liked the feeling of control on his air ways, and he liked the feeling of letting her in charge of his breathing.

He run his hands up her back, tangle his fingers in her hair and pull. She fights the pulling and moves faster.

He feels he's getting closer and closer. She let go of his arm and put the hand behind his head. Forcing him to look no other way but her eyes. He's pinned down to the driver's seat as she mumbles "look at me". She has a wild look in her eyes, her cheeks are bright red, and he realizes no one has ever took control of him like this… He comes at the thought. She tights her hand around his neck and that just intensifies the feeling.

She keeps moving and toss her head back, finally giving in to his hair pulling. She moves faster and he feels when she contracts her legs around him. She moans a suffocated sound, while he enjoys the very fast and transitory view of her in his lap, her head tossed back, the chest up and down with a heavy breath. Surrounded by the view of that god forsaken road they were parked in. At that moment she wasn't a person, she was a force of nature and he was just going with the flow.

She seemed to get back in her senses as she turned her head back to him. She smiled. He was still surprised by how she made him feel. As nothing had happened she just buttoned up her dress and casually said. "I see you tonight, then?"

Rust just smiled and nodded.


End file.
